Monday 23 August 2010

on the road to riches, try to stop and take pictures

Favorite song right now: "Be" by Usher
My other faves- well, you're listening to them :)

My life feels quite scattered lately. In limbo- for lack of a better word. I am not exactly certain about anything, really. My class schedule- who even knows. I change it on a daily basis. (i wish this were an exaggeration). My work- who knows. I am trying to figure out a TA job and my work hours which affects the mess of my school sched. I really do feel like a mess, but I know that, in time, it will all come together. And i am extremely grateful i am getting all these kinks worked out Before school starts so that i can settle into the organized chaos of my life sooner rather than later.
As i was thinking thru all of this today, i opened my daily e-mail quote and it went as follows:

“Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!” -Dieter Uchtdorf

Can i get an AMEN!? Seriously it is like every line of that quote struck me. It spoke straight to my soul. Felt so right.

Well i had a fantastic time this last week/weekend, and since i'm too lazy to write about it in my actual journal, i will do it here.

Wednesday morning we had LaShawn's ditty- as mentioned before. It was the time of my life.

And this is james...
...i just put that on here so you would laugh at least once in this post... because i'm basically dying over here hahahahah. he'll provide our comic relief throughout.

Well to say the least- J5 was EEEPPPPIIIICCCC!!!!

and honestly- i have no clue what i did after that so if someone could please fill me in that would be greatly appreciated. apparently i took some pics with jette??? i was so tired and out of it that my memories are few.


Okay but side note... how cute is he!?!
Alright sorry- got distracted.

Saturday was a BLAST!!! i got to spend the day with my faves ever- Piso Mojado!!!!! (please see pisomojadomusic.com) We went to Ogden for A Cappella Stock and had such a fun time! I don't really feel like giving details about how we had two cars break down in one day, drama that came with henna tattoo booths, or the extent of my excitement when i draped that xl shirt onto my piso-lovin body, but here are some fab pics!
















i have very attractive lovers...















That's okay tho because i still love them... and they love me :)



































































... that last pic is piso and mosaic- who is I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E!!! It really was just like a huge party!!!!

Sunday was amazing as well- Niece and i went back to Ogden for a missionary homecoming and then we drove home in a huge sandstorm and had a good talk. I was sad to take her home later that night :(

Another sad thing- Tanner, Talli's boyfriend, went off to Snow College to play football. We will miss him hanging around the condo (except maybe now i won't have so many bruises), but are glad that he is doing what he loves and can't wait to go to all his games! Here is a pic of the cute couple:

Presh!!!

Speaking of- i still need to post pics of my fabulous townhome. But i think i will wait til after our ikea rampage :)

xoxo miss jer bree

Thursday 19 August 2010

busy ish ness

It seems like since the moment I moved to Orem, life has become this fast-paced whirlwind of craziness. Don't get me wrong- i looove it. (well most of it). But it has just been, well, craziness. I miss my mom. Haha she is busy as well and i no longer have the luxury of going home and catching up with her. So in that aspect- i'm glad i have been busy or i would reeeally realize how much i miss her.
I mean, i haven't even seen talli for longer than about five minutes in the last week... and i live with her!
i'm super tired. sleep has not been a priority. nothing of basic nature really has (just look at my room). Even when i'm not engaged in some cause, i'm too tired to do anything productive. i need to do laundry and clean. i really need to go to the temple. i Love being busy. Love it. But too often i forget how to manage my new madness with the basics. Luckily, though, it doesn't take terribly long for me to find that balance.
Balance. I am going to need a lot of that this fall. I'm having issues now, when in two weeks school and an abundance of friends will be added to the plate. (Both of which i am looking forward to.)
Something is wrong with me- i can't eat lately. Yesterday i had a protein bar and some brownies along with other random bites here and there. But i really just don't have an appetite. So. So weird. For me, anyway. I figure its just an ensue reaction to lack of sleep and this new plethora of activity in my life. I haven't worked out lately, either. No bueno. But its not like i've had enough food in me to propel any form of physical exercise anyway...
Well now let me go through all of the fantastical things i have been spending my time doing.
*Working. (I don't know if i would describe this as 'fantastical'... but it pays the bills nonetheless, and supports the next activity in this list)
*Shopping. (Attempting to shop for niecie's mission but then going off on a million tangents of things that i just HAVE to buy. Thank heavens she loves me anyway.)
*Watching movies. (Marissa and i coaxed the boys into watching The Last Song. While we were holding back tears, they were suppressing multiple gag reactions.)
*J5. (It was a blast to practice and put on our presentation for the amazing Lashawn's leadership ditty at slcc.)
*Burning bridges then building them up again. (draaammaaa)
*Working out. (Well hey- last week i was like a work out queen.)
*Hanging out with Piso Mojado. (Search them on facebook- they're awesome)
*Weddings. (I'm so sick of them. Haha just kidding... i couldn't be happier for these precious couples tying the knot.)
*Making Brownies. (Well i did... once...)
*NOT getting sleep.
*Talking to Darbs about Logan being home (So crazy and exciting!!) along with other shtuff.
*Playing like its my job.
*Visiting friends and returning phone calls.

...okay so i thought i was going to come up with this comprehensive list of incredible things i'm doing with my time and legit reasons why i haven't gotten sleep, but it has suddenly come to my attention that its all just a lack of time management on my part. hahahaha oh well what can ya do. i'm happy, and that is what matters. i'll figure out the rest as it comes. And i mean look- today i have nothing planned after work. Perfect opportunity for a temple trip and some cleaning/sleeping/laundry.
I'm super excited for this weekend! Friday... not sure what i'm doing yet. But Saturday i will be with piso mojado all day! and then on Sunday, Niecie and some of the siblings and i are going to a homecoming. Goodness i am having so much fun lately. As long as i remember that 'balance' thing- there's no reason why this excitement shouldn't last :)

Monday 9 August 2010

1 week 3 days

*Note: this post was written a few weeks ago, but just barely being published.

1 week 3 days. That is how long i have until i move to Orem. Can i tell you how excited i am??? SO excited! i'm excited to be decades closer to all my friends, to move into my condo with talli, and to dive into Fall semester with everyone back at school, classes starting, football season taking off, and hopefully a new job. But this is definitely a bittersweet life transition for me.

This summer has been one of my favorites!!! (i think i say that every Summer). But really tho. (And i always follow up with that as well).

I moved home after two years of being on my own. I was STOKED to move home- last Winter was rough. But at first, being back in the house wasn't the treat I had hoped for. In fact, it wasn't a treat at all. It turned out to be quite difficult and I began to wonder if I had made a mistake. Mom and I had been at a distance for a while now, and when thrown under the same roof, things got tricky. She was very used to living completely independently and I was used to coming and going as I pleased. It was okay if one of us was grumpy occasionally, but we hit a spot where both of us began having our irritated moments at the same time- no bueno. There was some definite push and pull and grinding of each other's gears for the first two weeks, but it wasn't long before we snapped out of it and living at home became pure bliss...

Our mornings were filled with forever long speed walk work outs, catching up on gossip, having those deep convos and analyzing everyone and their dog, doing abs and arms to the phatty playlist, and eating protein bars or hard boiled eggs. Our afternoons consisted of running errands, luncheons with friends, yard work, visiting the grandparents and shopping. Our evenings: eating orange chicken, sitting on the kitchen floor, ncis, fatty paying us a visit with el fudge spewing out her much too-full cheeks, ncis, visiting with gordi, taking the grandparents their dinner, ncis, playing with the Dupaix's, mingling with neighbors, working out- again, or at least talking about working out again but ending up just watching ncis, making brownies with applesauce and letting ice cream melt on top, having ambien drug tests with ncis playing in the background- or even just going our separate ways for the night. But that was sometimes the best- going our separate ways i mean, because we always had our bedtime debriefs afterward. And those are the moments that mean the most. The ones where we come home, get our pj's on, sit on the king size bed, and then talk about everything that happened that night and let ourselves go on tangents or get carried away on one certain subject. These late night talks could last forever- unless mom has taken her ambi, in which case they are cut short by slurred words and, as mentioned above, drunk tests. (But this is usually a good thing because neither of us do well on little sleep). Ahhh these are the days.

There are a LOT of things i'm going to miss about Cottonwood Heights. Of course, everything mentioned above will be dearly missed (minus ncis) haha. I will miss my ward. My amazing, incredible ward. I will miss my calling in the nursery- oh how sweet the Lord was to give me such a perfect calling. I will miss my Dupaix family; my babies. When i was gone on the weekends, i'd come home and they'd be so grown up even tho i only left for three days! Time is so precious, and i have loved watching my little ones grow up. I'll miss Mindy. A lot. I'll miss going walking with her much too late and telling her all the latest drama in my life. I'll miss our chats and visits and just going over there whenever i please. I'll miss how much she appreciates me loving her kids and watching them whenever i can, even tho it always felt like I was the one benefiting.
I'll miss my bed. Ahhh my queen size bed! it is the most comfortable thing in the world- i am convinced. And i spent a Lot of time there. I'll miss my room. My messy, messy room haha. I did, in fact, redecorate it- and it looks spectacular, but i never could quite keep it clean. Maybe when i move out i can actually enjoy the new decor.
I'll miss my bathroom. So many good memories in there. Memories of getting ready... for my first day of 7th grade, for middle school pictures, with jord and mel, for my first date, for tuna's 16th birthday, then for her wedding, or for a night out with bryan, or most recently a weekend with the joneses or my 20th bday bbq. Where has the time gone?
I'll miss my garden that i planted last week. Well- that is if it's not dead by the time i get home today. I never did have a talent for yard work. But i will still miss it!
I'll miss parking in the garage... oh wait. That one never happened hahahah.
I'll miss not paying a single dime for my housing or food. I'll miss telling my mom, every day , that we have no food, and then calling her fatty as she eats her protein bar. I'll miss eating so many peanut m&m's on a daily basis to the point that i'm constantly sick to my stomach, but just can't stop because they are Right. There!
I'll miss my puppy. My fat, obese, challenged puppy. Oh how i love izzy and am going to miss her.
I'll miss my backyard, and sitting on the swing chair late at night, contemplating life in its entirety.
I'll miss the simplicity and pure joy that came to me this Summer. I'll miss stealing my mom's stuff and having her not notice (don't worry ma- it has all been returned). ...Maybe that's why she's starting to clone my wardrobe...
I'll miss diet coke. In all honesty- I don't care for it. But boy am i going to miss diet coke cans dancing in my dreams. Ah! So much I will miss!

But there is something, or someone rather, that i will be most sad to leave above all others- and that's my mom. If you couldn't tell already- we had one heck of a Summer together! We experienced a bounteous amount of sweat, blood, tears, laughter, drool (don't ask), snorts, and so much more together! This was the summer that i will always remember as the truly unifying season that solidified our eternal bond and brought us closer together than ever before. Yes, we show up in the same outfits, and instead of finishing each others sentences, we say the same things simultaneously. And when it's just us two, a mere glance will do the job of communicating a thought or action.
See for awhile, when i was an angry teenager (as most are), i wondered what terrible thing i did in the pre-mortal life to rob myself of a family consisting of mother/father brother/sister. But then my eyes were opened, and i realized that God blessed me with more than I could ever deserve when he gave me my mom- and i wouldn't trade that for the world! Is it hard having only one other immediate family member? Yeah it can be. All the frustrations in a home that a wife would take out on a husband, or sister to a brother, for us- it all gets channeled into one person. But along with that, all the focus and love and attention and care that would normally be spread amongst many family members is compiled into one person- and I can't think of any greater blessing than this! People that say their mom is their best friend have no clue what it's like to have your mom as your bff. Try having her be your everything. That is what my mom is to me. My mom is my caretaker, my nurse, dietitian, motivator, fan, big sis, advice giver, loving parent, wingman, shopping partner, disciplinarian, comforter, dinner friend, deep discussion buddy, personal trainer, fashion stylist, spiritual adviser, legal guardian, shoulder to cry on, ear to vent to, financial consultant, mentor, and so many other things! Oh how i will miss her. Times are changing and our lives are progressing, but I will never forget this Summer that we had together. I love her with all my heart and couldn't be more grateful that we are eternally tied.

Xoxo miss jer bree.




MusicPlaylistView Profile
Create a playlist at MixPod.com